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Ministers want headlines about cracking down on water companies — but these fines are meaningless to firms with billion-pound debts and no incentive to change.
Here‘s the BBC:
Fining English water companies for spilling raw sewage will soon become quicker and easier, the government has said.
New proposals would see automatic fines of up to £20,000 issued for some minor offences and make it simpler to punish more serious ones.
The government’s spin here is about speeding up enforcement, but the actual deterrent power of the fines looks negligible compared with the scale of the problem.
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Here’s how the situation really stands:
-
Automatic fines of up to £20,000 sound tough in a press release but are tiny in corporate terms — especially when firms like Thames Water are tens of billions in debt and still paying bonuses and dividends.
-
Even the proposed £500,000 maximum without going to court is still loose change for a company whose annual turnover runs into billions. The BBC article quotes James Wallace, the CEO of campaign group River Action: “Fines of £500,000 are pocket change to billion-pound companies like Thames Water.”
-
The fines also don’t change the underlying structure — shareholders will supposedly bear the cost, but as we’ve seen before, costs have a way of being passed back to customers through bills or reduced investment.
-
The Environment Agency has already admitted it lacks capacity to investigate or enforce existing rules, so it’s unclear how “quicker and easier” fines will make any difference without more resources.
The real problem isn’t how fast fines are issued; it’s how tiny they are, and how little political will there is to force real reform.
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£20,000 fines for sewage dumping? Thames Water spends that on lunch
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Here‘s the BBC:
The government’s spin here is about speeding up enforcement, but the actual deterrent power of the fines looks negligible compared with the scale of the problem.
Here’s how the situation really stands:
Automatic fines of up to £20,000 sound tough in a press release but are tiny in corporate terms — especially when firms like Thames Water are tens of billions in debt and still paying bonuses and dividends.
Even the proposed £500,000 maximum without going to court is still loose change for a company whose annual turnover runs into billions. The BBC article quotes James Wallace, the CEO of campaign group River Action: “Fines of £500,000 are pocket change to billion-pound companies like Thames Water.”
The fines also don’t change the underlying structure — shareholders will supposedly bear the cost, but as we’ve seen before, costs have a way of being passed back to customers through bills or reduced investment.
The Environment Agency has already admitted it lacks capacity to investigate or enforce existing rules, so it’s unclear how “quicker and easier” fines will make any difference without more resources.
The real problem isn’t how fast fines are issued; it’s how tiny they are, and how little political will there is to force real reform.
Support Vox Political!
With social media algorithms acting as gatekeepers – allowing users to read only what their owners want them to, sites like Vox Political need the support of our readers like never before.
You can help by making a donation:
https://Ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
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